Manufactured meat and method of production thereof

ABSTRACT

A method for producing ham is described with reference to a comparative example. Three hams were selected for manufacture, comprising one for processing in accordance with the present invention and two controls. Two were boned out and one was left on the bone. The three hams and the excised bones were pickled in brine and saltpetre in the conventional manner. The brining solution was supplemented with sugar and pineapple juice. The cured bones were laid adjacent the excision slit in the cut in intimate contact with the flesh of one of the hams, and the whole cut was secured by cook-in elastic netting. The second boned out ham and the bone-in ham were similarly bound in netting to eliminate any variation in cooking occasioned by the netting. The respective cuts were then identically smoked to a cooked state in the conventional manner. On a blind tasting, the control boneless product was picked as such by a statistically significant proportion of tasters, whereas the bone-in ham and ham in accordance with the present invention were adjudged to be ham on the bone by a majority of tasters, with no statistically significant variation of opinion between the two products.

[0001] This invention relates to manufactured meat and methods ofproduction thereof.

[0002] This invention has particular application to the production ofcooked ham, and the invention will be described hereinafter withreference to this application. However, it will be understood by personsskilled in the art that this invention may find application in theproduction of other manufactured meats such as bacons and other smokedor cured meats.

[0003] It is generally considered that leg ham on the bone is a superiorproduct to boneless ham. In the production of boneless ham and othercured cuts, the brined and cured meat is boned out and the resulting cutis then usually wrapped in a cook-in wrap of polymer or net, or a smokepermeable cook-in wrap for hams or the like. The product is then steamcooked, smoked to cook, or is partially cooked by smoking followed by aheat cooking in a cook-in package, as the product requires.

[0004] The resulting product is relatively easier to carve than thebone-in product, and is appreciated by the market as having less waste.However, the boneless products are perceived to have inferior eatingquality. Most persistently, the impression of the market is that theflavour of bone-out hams is of less quality that the flavour of bone-inham.

[0005] In one aspect the present invention resides broadly in a methodof production of manufactured meat including the steps of:

[0006] providing an open-boned, boned-out cut;

[0007] separately curing the cut and a bone;

[0008] binding the cured bone on the outside of the cut in intimatecontact with the flesh of the cut at the recess formed by the openboning thereof with a cook-in binding; and

[0009] cooking the bound cut.

[0010] Conventional wisdom has it that the superior flavour of ham onthe bone is predicated by the tissue-bound intimacy of the bone to theflesh throughout the curing and cooking process in terms of flavourdevelopment and thermal transfer through the bone. It has beensuprisingly determined that, contrary to this conventional wisdom,essentially the same quality and flavour may be produced by a process inaccordance with the present invention.

[0011] The cut may be any meat cut requiring to be boned. The bone maybe sourced from the cut or may be from elsewhere on the same or anotherbeast.

[0012] The boneless cut may be reshaped prior to curing. For example,the reshaping may be performed by mechanical stretching or rehanging. Inthe case of hams or the like, when the bone is removed the uncured orcured ham may advantageously be rehung or otherwise stretched. The hammuscle may be readily lengthened since there is no ham bone orassociated tendons to support the muscle in shape. This hanging orstretching creates the appearance of a larger, longer and/or morestreamlined appearance to the product.

[0013] The cure may be any suitable cure including but not limited tobrining or pickling, sugar cure or the like, with or without saltpetreor other curing excipients. The cure may be the same or different asbetween the cut and the bone or bone substitute. Preferably, the curefor at least the cut is selected from cures conventionally used to curethe cut.

[0014] The binding may be by any suitable means at least in partdictated by the cooking process. The binding is advantageously selectedfrom conventional cook-in bindings. For example, the binding may be bymeans of a natural or synthetic casing or film, net or cloth.

[0015] The cooking may be by means of one or more of smoking, thermalcooking such as roasting, steaming or boiling, or the like.

[0016] The intimate contact between the cured bone and the cured fleshmay comprise reinsertion of the bone into the cavity of the boned cut.

[0017] The intimacy of contact between the flesh and the bone may besupplemented by the addition of a substance selected to enhancediffusion of the principles responsible for bone-enhanced flavour. Forexample, the bone and/or cut may be treated with a food acid or thelike. The additive may also include or comprise a flavouring excipientsuch as a fruit juice, coulis or the like.

[0018] In a yet further aspect this invention resides broadly in amanufactured meat product when produced by any one of the foregoingmethods of the invention.

[0019] The invention will be further described with reference to apreferred embodiment of the present invention, in accordance with thefollowing example.

EXAMPLE

[0020] Three hams were selected for manufacture. Two were boned out andone was left on the bone. The three hams and the excised bones werepickled in brine and saltpetre in the conventional manner. The briningsolution was supplemented with sugar and pineapple juice.

[0021] The cured bones were laid adjacent the excision slit in the cutin intimate contact with the flesh of one of the hams, and the whole cutwas secured by cook-in elastic netting. The second boned out ham and thebone-in ham were similarly bound in netting to eliminate any variationin cooking occasioned by the netting. The respective cuts were thenidentically smoked to a cooked state in the conventional manner.

[0022] On a blind tasting, the boneless product was picked as such by astatistically significant proportion of tasters, whereas the bone-in hamand ham in accordance with the present invention were adjudged to be hamon the bone by a majority of tasters, with no statistically significantvariation of opinion between the two products.

[0023] It will of course be realised that while the above has been givenby way of illustrative example of this invention, all such and othermodifications and variations thereto as would be apparent to personsskilled in the art are deemed to fall within the broad scope and ambitof this invention as defined in the claims appended hereto.

1. A method of production of manufactured meat including the steps of:providing an open-boned, boned-out cut; separately curing the cut and abone; binding the cured bone on the outside of the cut in intimatecontact with the flesh of the cut at the recess formed by the openboning thereof with a cook-in binding; and cooking the bound cut.
 2. Amethod according to claim 1 wherein said bone is derived from said cut.3. A method according to claim 1 wherein said bone is selected frombones from the same or a different beast than said cut.
 4. A methodaccording to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said cut isreshaped prior to curing.
 5. A method according to claim 4, wherein saidreshaping is performed by mechanical stretching or rehanging.
 6. Amethod according to any one of the preceding claims wherein said cure isthe same or different as between said cut and said bone.
 7. A methodaccording to claim 6, wherein said cure for at least said cut isselected from cures conventionally used to cure said cut.
 8. A methodaccording to any one of the preceding claims, wherein said cook-inbinding is selected from a natural or synthetic casing or film, net orcloth.
 9. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, whereinsaid cooking comprises one or more of smoking, thermal cooking such asroasting, steaming or boiling, or the like.
 10. A method according toany one of the preceding claims, wherein the intimacy of contact betweenthe flesh of said cut and said bone or bone substitute is supplementedby the addition of a substance selected to enhance diffusion of theprinciples responsible for bone-enhanced flavour.
 11. A method accordingto claim 10, wherein said substance is selected from food acids or thelike.
 12. A method according to any one of claims 10 and 11, whereinsaid substance includes or comprises a flavouring excipient.
 13. Amethod according to claim 12, wherein said excipient is selected fromfruit juices, coulis or the like.
 14. A manufactured meat product whenproduced by the method of any one of claims 1 to 13.